Fallout
by Marquella
Summary: A one shot based on Marianas Trench's music video for the song "Fallout."


"So it was all a lie," the prince yelled. He stumbled after Carolina, who hadn't spoken one word to him since she had left. "None of this meant anything to you."

She stopped, and turned around, looking ready to strike, but the Prince didn't give her any time to answer. In a fit of frustration, he grabbed her arms and started shaking her. "Why won't you answer me?" He screeched. "Give me some-something I can go on." His stuttering voice echoed over the sparse fields.

"Stop," she bellowed. The prince went limp at the sound of her voice. She leaned in to his ear, paused, and then whispered, "Ever After his mine now." She planted a light kiss on his cheekbone. "Congratulations." And then, in one last display of nobility, she gave him back his heart.

He stood statuesque as she drove away.

She was right. It was entirely his fault. She should have known that she was trouble from the moment he met her, but he was too taken by her beauty, her voice, her stubbornness. His brother had warned him that she might be no good, but even the king was unaware of what she could do. With her army of dolls she had overthrown the king, banished the princess, and once she had achieved the full extent of her power, she left the prince without anyone in the world.

Would his brother ever forgive him? If it weren't for his stupidity, Carolina would never –

A powerful boom went off in the distance. Startled, the prince spun around to see the remains of a titanic explosion going off in the distance. Within an instant the adrenaline kicked in and he started sprinting away as more and more explosions went off, gaining ground on him.

He knew Ever After well enough to know where the explosions were coming from; those were the farmlands, the villages, everything that belonged to the commoners. Carolina was destroying them, and he didn't know why. If she wanted to be the queen, why destroy the very people she would rule over? He hoped against hope that the people would be all right, but he knew that very few people would be able to survive those blasts.

Suddenly, a huge explosion went off closer than ever before. The sting of the heat engulfed him, and the force ran through his body, rattling his bones. He suddenly felt completely lacking in the strength to go on. Shaking, he fell to the ground unconscious before he made contact.

_"Wait, I think I see him."_

_ "Are you sure?"_

_ "No…wait, yes, that's definitely him."_

The prince slowly blinked, the brightness of the search flares hurting his brain. The voices were familiar, but he couldn't quite place them.

"Your highness, are you all right?"

The prince tried to respond, but could only manage a pained moan.

"Well, he's alive."

A set of hand reached out and lifted him up, supporting his back and his head.

"We'll get you out of here," a voice said. The prince recognized it as the commander of his army. He wanted to speak, to thank him for his help, but he didn't have the energy. Instead he let himself collapse limply into the commander's arms before he went unconscious again.

He awoke surrounded by the remains of the army, and the king, who was looking at him with a look he couldn't quite name. Anger? Sadness? Disappointment? The prince wanted to hide his face and curl up in shame, but a thought occurred to him.

"Porcelain," he said quickly. "Where is she?"

The king narrowed his eyes. "We don't know."

There was a long, drawn out pause. All around him he could hear the smouldering remnants of the fire. Could she have survived the bombs?

"I'm sorry," the prince said. "I'm so sorry."

"She would have found a way whether or not you had…co-operated," the king replied. "Blaming yourself won't do us any good. You just need to focus on surviving. Unless you think she still wants you."

The prince winced at that last sentence. It showed that as much as the king wanted to, he couldn't forgive him. That, and it reminded the prince of the moment he knew Carolina didn't love him. When he had been unconscious, the memory came back to him.

She had been in another man's arms, smiling blissfully.

He didn't want to see Ever After in her hands. But he also didn't want to see her happier with somebody else.


End file.
